


i'm coming out of my cage

by collieflower



Series: I Want The World To Know [1]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: (twitter wants to know who Bill's been smoochin), Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Coming Out, M/M, Post-Canon, Speculation About A Celebrity's Sexuality, because i said gay rights.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-16 20:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21277232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/collieflower/pseuds/collieflower
Summary: Three days later, when their business in New York was done and they were back in sunny Florida, Bev sent the group text, an article link included.It was a carousel of photos on a tabloid sight under a big block header telling of "Author William Denbrough Seen Kissing Another Man In NYC."There was little in the article, just the existence of the photos, a short backstory on Bill and of course his divorce — and an admittance of the publishers havingnoidea who this new lover of Bills's was.Richie thought this washilarious.





	i'm coming out of my cage

**Author's Note:**

> who's really out here using mr. brightside to name my fics because it's been stuck in my head for six hours, huh  
surely can't be me.
> 
> GUESS WHO'S HERE WITH ANOTHER NICHE FIC!!  
(It's me. It's always me.)

There was never much media attention towards Bill. His books were never the Harry Potter's, or the Song Of Fire and Ice's. They were horror books.  _ Good _ horror books, with shitty endings and marginal movies made after them.

The most attention he got out of people on the street was the occasional fan who knew he was married to none other than  _ Audra Phillips _ !

And after they separated, he was  _ that writer guy who actually divorced Audra Phillips. _ There were articles about him, sometimes, but they were infrequent.

The kind of linked tweets that get the least attention for a tabloid.

But by God, that changed sooner than later.

There wasn't a lot of details given to the public on his and Audra's divorce. The main reason being: wasn't a lot to say. It was clean for the most part — two people fell in love once upon a time, and they grew apart.

That wasn't the end of the story, but that's how it was presented.

His newest book came out just coming off the news of their divorce. The tactic was something Audra suggested. They were separated, but didn’t announce the split until after the book was drafted and into the editing phase.

She was a genius, really.

Interest in the book spiked, and there were hopes of, hey, maybe it'll even be good this time!

Bill may have been biased, but he thought it was going to be a good one.

Mike thought so too — but then again, Bill thought that  _ he _ was biased, too.

There was yet another reason for the divorce: Mike Hanlon.

After Derry, there was just some things the Losers couldn't shake. Like the memories, and the terrors. everything was coming back to them, and they realized they'd lost almost three decades of each other to time, and to  _ It _ .

It had been a year since Neibolt, and that wasn't enough time to relearn everything about each other, but the seven of them were sure going to try.

As far as Bill knew, Eddie had just moved in with Richie. It didn't surprise him in the least.

He'd called Stan as soon as he found out, and Stan  _ laughed _ . He laughed like a madman, like a boy who'd heard a fantastic joke after an evening of being upset and alone.

_ It was always going to be one of us, _ he said in between gasps of air.

_ Wh-whaddya mean? _

_ I think we were all a little in love with Richie at one time or the next, _ he'd said.

Stan was rarely wrong, and this was not a case to contradict him.

Richie often sent Bill pictures of the dog he and Eddie adopted together. She was a small poodle named Stanley, on account of her corkscrew curls.

Bill would dutifully show Mike each picture, too. And he would deny it, but it was purely a selfish act. Mike would smile brilliantly, and Bill was all but putty to that smile.

It was in one of these moments, with Mike smiling at Bill, and Bill making a stupid, adoring face back that things began to change around on them.

They were stopped outside a street in New York. Bill loved showing Mike all the sights he'd missed while he was cooped up in Derry. He showed him all his favorite little places he'd picked out of the earth when he'd been going to college here. He'd tell stories of running around the city, 22 and dumb, getting excited that he had someone to relive it all with.

It was cold, with the early January wind whipping all around them. The traffic was horrendously long, and Mike ended up tucking himself behind Bill, wrapping his arms around his middle.

"It's not a windbreaker if I'm nuh-not t-t-tall enough to actually b-break the win-nd," Bill told him, matter of factly. He thumbed through his phone, scanning through an email from his publicist before opening a text from Richie.

"Maybe, but you're basically a space heater," Mike replied, propping his chin up on Bill's head.

Bill hummed, put tucked his free hand in between Mike's arms to try to warm his fingers. "Look." It was a selfie Richie sent him. He and Eddie were all bundled up, and Richie's nose was dripping from the cold. "They're in Vancouver."

"Seems like  _ this  _ is the time of year to stay home where it's warm," Mike remarked.

"F-feels like that's pointed at mmme." Bill shot him a look over his shoulder, and Mike laughed and kissed him.

People rushed around them, and they were quick to untangle and join the traffic flow again.

Three days later, when their business in New York was done and they were back in sunny Florida, Bev sent the group text, an article link included.

It was a carousel of photos on a tabloid sight under a big block header telling of "Author William Denbrough Seen Kissing Another Man In NYC." There was little in the article, just the existence of the photos, a short backstory on Bill and of course his divorce — and an admittance of the publishers having  _ no _ idea who this new lover of William's was.

It triggered a series of emails and calls, and vague answers to the question,  _ well, what now? _

First was a conversation with Mike. Tucked into patio furniture overlooking the beach and the setting sun.

Mike didn't have anyone left. No one he was hiding his sexuality from. He wasn't ashamed of Bill, and as long as Bill was comfortable with it, he was okay with going ahead and coming out with their relationship.

Richie thought it was funny.

_ That's what happens, _ he cheered over voice memo in their group chat the moment right before he stepped onto a stage.  _ Eddie is so fuckin’ caustic about even holding my hand in Malibu. Dunno what he’d do if I even thought about being touchy feely on a crowded New York street. _

_ Probably chop your balls off _ , Stan sent back.

Eddie sent back a resounding:  _ I can't hear what Richie’s memo is about, but if you’re talking about me, Stan, then yes. _

It took another few days of thought, but eventually, they were ready.

There was a simple post on Instagram, which was linked in a tweet concerning the initial topic. The first slide was of them both, grinning like fools with Mike’s arm wrapped around Bill. They looked like a newlywed couple, or so Ben insisted in the initial pre-run of the post and its contents.

It was a funny thought, but one for  _ much _ farther down the line than they were.

The second slide was one of the clearer paparazzi photos from before. Bill liked it, honestly. It was canid and sweet. (And it showcased just how much taller Mike was than him.) There was a short message to go along with it all — Stan had warned him to keep it short. Don’t try to embellish it. Short, sweet and to the point, and within no time, the post proclaiming William Denbrough’s sexuality was compiled and all ready to go.

There wasn’t a big explosion of media attention like some corner of his brain expected, but there was some. The usual and expected negative comments were there, but they were far overshadowed by the kind tweets and messages from fans who, on some level or another, related and felt even more connected with him and his books than before.

He wasn’t so sure the connected-to-the-books bit was such a good thing, given the material, but…

There was a round of interviews speaking about his sexuality and his happy relationship (and, of course, how all of this related to him just coming off of his divorce), and it seemed like it was mentioned in most of the press interviews concerning the new book, but he didn’t care much. For the most part, the interviews were successful.

He supposed that in the end it was something of a weight off his chest. He never outright hid his sexuality in the later years of his life, but having it out there was something of a breath of fresh air.

Plus the ability to flaunt his and Mike’s cute dinner dates and beach picnics on his newly dusted-off Twitter were definitely one  _ hell _ of a bonus.

**Author's Note:**

> eddie and richie's relationship goes strangely faster than any wlw, jot that down.
> 
> this is the photo i was referencing  
  
every time i see it, it gives me so much joy. look at them. oh my god.  
[and here's my tumblr!](https://stansflowercap.tumblr.com/)


End file.
